Take a moment to think about the first person who ever spoke to you about Jesus. For many of us, it was a parent or grandparent. For others, it was a Sunday school teacher or pastor. Still, others would look to a friend in high school or a roommate in college. Whoever it was, they began telling you about Jesus, and somewhere along the way, most of you reading this began to understand Him not just as a teacher, but as your Savior and your Lord. This process of hearing about Jesus and responding to that message with repentance and faith is the universal experience of all Christians for 2,000 years. People don’t simply come to faith in Jesus, they are told about Jesus and invited to follow him.

The early church knew and experienced this reality. They came to faith in Jesus and immediately told others about him. Rather than hoping that people came to them to ask about what they believed, the book of Acts is filled with examples of Christians boldly and intentionally telling people about Jesus. Their intentionality in evangelism bore fruit in their generation, as many people were saved every day.

If we want to become the church God is calling us to be in our generation, we must do the same. We must choose to talk about Jesus, share our testimony, invite people to church and be intentional with those God has put in our sphere. Not everyone is called to preach or do public Gospel invitations, but all Christians are called to live and love like Jesus, who made it His life’s mission to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10)

For today: Ask God for the name of one person whom He is calling you to invite to church before the end of this year.